Milly's parents turn to Suzy Lamplugh mum

THE mother of missing estate agent Suzy Lamplugh is helping the parents of Amanda Dowler come through their trauma as police study pictures that could be a major breakthrough in the hunt for the schoolgirl.

THE mother of missing estate agent Suzy Lamplugh is helping the parents of Amanda Dowler come through their trauma as police study pictures that could be a major breakthrough in the hunt for the schoolgirl.

Detectives yesterday released CCTV pictures which showed a person they think is l3-year-old Amanda, also known as Milly, apparently talking to the driver of a car moments before she vanished.

The footage, which the FBI spent two months cleaning up because the original was obscured by dazzle from the sun, shows a lone figure standing next to the stationary dark saloon.

Welsh-born Diana Lamplugh, whose daughter Suzy disappeared in 1986, said, "Her parents are brave and incredibly strong and we all pray that something will turn up soon.

"And unless you have gone through it yourself you can have no idea what it is like. People say they know how you feel, but take my word for it they haven't the faintest idea.

"The truth is you really don't know which way to turn or who to go to."

Mrs Lamplugh, who still clings to the hope that her own daughter's body will be found, regularly visits friends and relatives in Wales.

"It is where I feel I live," she said. Mrs Lamplugh has roots in Pembrokeshire and the family owns a home in West Wales.

She has been frequently in touch with Milly's parents since the girl disappeared near Walton-on-Thames railway station in March.

"I talk to them - in fact we talk to each other - and it is a question of being able to speak aloud and listen to your own self as much as anything," she said.

The CCTV images of the car were originally blocked out by sun glare but FBI experts in Virginia used hi-tech equipment to reveal them. Police are still unable to identify the make and model but believe it is a Honda Prelude or Vauxhall Vectra, with a distinctive spoiler.

The pictures, taken by a revolving camera on top of a Bird's Eye Wall's building, are timed at 4.15pm on the day Milly went missing, seven minutes after the last known sighting of her at roughly the same spot.

Police say they are 50pc certain the lone figure is Milly.

Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Denholm, of Surrey Police, said, "If it is her this is massively significant, but that's the key question: is it her?

He said that if it was Milly there was a mystery as to what she was doing in the seven minutes between the last sighting of her and the CCTV pictures.

Extensive work has been done to analyse her mobile-phone and computer usage and nothing indicates that she had arranged to meet anyone that afternoon.

"We believe the most likely scenario is that Milly was the victim of a chance abductor," said Mr Denholm.

Mrs Lamplugh said the new clue showed just how hard the police were working on the case.

"It is an enormous help to know they are going forward," she said. "Unfortunately, you just have to live with it and hope. More than anything you badly want to put your hand out and place it on your child."

The CCTV footage had been examined by five UK laboratories before the FBI managed to "peel off" the dazzle of the sun. Detectives had previously described uncovering the images on it as "like utopia for us".

The figure which may be Milly is next to the car for at least 42 seconds, the time it took the camera to make one revolution. When it swept past on its next revolution, after 84 seconds, the figure and car were gone.

The car had been travelling towards the railway station when it pulled over and parked on a yellow line. A white Mercedes, believed to be an old 190 or 300 series, was forced to manoeuvre round the dark saloon as it parked.

Detectives estimate that about 10 cars may have driven past while the person on the pavement was next to the car and those drivers may have seen what happened next. Mr Den-holm also appealed for any drivers going in or out of the station car park around that time to come forward.

The FBI has tried to analyse the CCTV footage further to see how tall the person next to the dark saloon was or what colour their clothes were but has so far drawn a blank. Mr Den-holm said, however, that he was confident further work would identify the make and model of the car.

Detectives involved in the hunt for Milly have searched more than 350 sites, including 40 underwater, and 50 kilometres of waterways. They have received more than 5,500 calls from the public, taken 1,850 statements and made 3,500 house-to-house inquiries.

Three people have been arrested during the investigation so far but no one has been charged.

Mr Denholm said, "This is an extremely difficult inquiry with no crime scene, no witnesses and no body. We have done extensive work, ground-breaking work a lot of it, in this investigation. We are still totally committed to finding out what has taken place."